Key Events

Great day for those of us lucky enough to be there...

14:47

Rafa on Stoke from his lunchtime press conference

I was watching clips (v Man U) and it is a good team with good players. Good balance. Strong in defence, some pace and ability in attack. They can do a lot of things and have a manager with experience. United are a very strong side so to do what they did and the way they did it is quite good.

14:46

Familiar face in the middle of the front row...

14:10

High praise indeed from Pej for Stoke skipper

Here’s a clip from Pej’s weekly column which will appear in full on-line this evening...

I don’t like to single out players, especially after what felt like a great win such was the performance, but I can’t ignore Darren Fletcher.

I’d go as far as to say that he might prove to be Mark Hughes’ best-ever signing as Stoke manager.

I wouldn’t say Fletcher was a born winner, I’d say he is a self-made winner, with a bit of help from the environment he grew up in at Manchester United.

To come through the ranks when they were regularly churning out league titles and with Sir Alex Ferguson acting as task master in chief, that says it all about Fletcher.

Press conference wrap up

A short and sweet press conference. It sounds unlikely that Ryan Shawcross will be ready to join the squad this weekend.

Mark Hughes is happy with Mame Diouf in his new wing-back role as well - although he isn’t ruling out putting him back up front at some point this season... just not any time soon.

Ryan Shawcross has been struggling with a back problem.

08:52Peter Smith

Hughes looking forward to Newcastle trip

MH: Against a side like Newcastle who have had a couple of good results in their last two games, they will be looking to make it a hat-trick, so we will try to affect that. We are really excited by what’s ahead, looking to every game. We are in good heart and decent shape.

I’m not sure what my record is against Rafa but it’s good he’s back in the Premier League. He’s clearly a high level manager. There is a bit of noise up there at the moment but a couple of positive results seems to have quietened that down.

08:50Peter Smith

Ryan Shawcross in race for fitness

MH: He’s missed a lot of training time unfortunately. He may come in with a really positive attitude to the weekend ... but as we stand as of last evening it is unlikely he will play.

08:49Peter Smith

Darren Fletcher a super deputy captain

MH: Ryan wasn’t available and Darren, as we knew he would, has shown real leadership qualities in the right manner. He leads by example and I think he is enjoying his time here. He’s displaying everything we thought he would.

08:48KEY EVENT

Mame Diouf's new contract - but will he play as striker

MH: He’s a great guy with fantastic attitude to his work. He gets a bit frustrated he doesn’t play down the middle but at the moment he’s playing exceptionally well in his new role. There’s nothing to say he won’t play there at some point this season but at the moment there is no reason to move him. We have a couple of players who have the flexibility to play in different positions, like Geoff Cameron, and that helps you during games when you can move people around and keep XI on the pitch. We’re delighted that Mame has committed to us.

08:46Peter Smith

Mark Hughes's press conference

We are really pleased how we’ve started. We look really bright in our work. Looking at our fixture list when it came out and the first seven or eight games were as hard as anybody’s. We’re half-way through that. We’ve laid a platform. We’ve added a lot of good players and first of foremost congratulations to the players. The ones who have been here understand what I want and the new boys have settled in quickly.

08:43Peter Smith

A foot in both camps

Most people might have forgotten that Michael Owen played for Stoke but he is still Newcastle’s record signing, a long time since he moved there from Real Madrid.

He told BetVictor he is predicting a draw: “The hosts will be looking to win three PL games on the run for the first time in nearly three years, but Stoke are unbeaten in their last four and will be hard to beat – I believe they will get a point at St James’s Park.”

Fresh faces in the opposition

Newcastle have the youngest average starting XI lineup so far in the 2017-18 Premier League (25y 223d old).

08:25Peter Smith

Mark Hughes's record v Newcastle

Only versus Sunderland (11) has Mark Hughes won more Premier League games as a manager than against Newcastle (9).

08:11Peter Smith

Hello from Stoke HQ

The cameramen are setting up for Mark Hughes, who is expected at 8.30am.

06:47

Man City star was in crowd to cheer on Stoke last week

Maxim Choupo-Moting tells Sky Sports he ran his move to Stoke past a few of his pals in the Premier League.

I spoke with [Leroy] Sane, [Loris] Karius, [Joel] Matip and [Sead] Kolasinac, they all told me coming to the Premier League would be a great challenge and experience for me. In fact, Leroy Sane came to watch me score the two goals against Manchester United.

Max Choupo-Moting... a kiss for the fans against Man Utd. (Image: Getty)

06:39

A good start ... but only a start

Five points from a tough first four games is something to build on, says Mark Hughes.

I think everyone is encouraged by what we have shown already.

We’ve had a plan and performed well and that has shown through the results we’ve managed to achieve against good quality opposition.

We always knew the start to the season was going to test us but we’ve been up to the job and so, clearly, we need to keep that going.

06:34

Hughes: There's a reason new boys are settling in quickly

A lot of changes in the summer but it seems to have affected team spirit in a positive way.

“It’s a lot easier for them to gel if they have good quality,” said Mark Hughes in an interview for Stoke’s website.

“In my view, it’s maybe a bit harder if they are not quite up to the level you already have at the club but we’ve brought in top quality players here. Good players adjust more quickly to their teammates, surroundings and that’s what’s happening here.

“You can see there is a lot of confidence in the new guys from the lads who have been here a number of seasons. In turn, I think their confidence is also helping those who have been here a little bit longer than them.”